Skip to content
The Lumenary
Early undergraduateAnalysisPlanned

Calculus of one variable

Calculus I–II: limits and continuity with ε–δ, derivatives and their applications, the mean value theorem, techniques of integration, improper integrals, series and convergence tests, and Taylor series.

math.analysis.single-variable-calculus

The lesson for this topic has not been written yet. The outline below is part of the curriculum map and has not been reviewed.

Builds on

Required prerequisites, all the way down: 34

You will learn to

  • Differentiate and integrate elementary functions using the chain rule, substitution and integration by parts.
  • State and apply the mean value theorem and L'Hôpital's rule.
  • Test series for convergence and compute Taylor polynomials with error bounds.

Definition

  • f is continuous at a if for every ε > 0 there is δ > 0 such that |f(x) − f(a)| < ε whenever |x − a| < δ.
  • The Taylor series of f at a is Σ f⁽ⁿ⁾(a)(x − a)ⁿ/n!.

Theorem

  • Mean value theorem: if f is continuous on [a, b] and differentiable on (a, b), then f′(c) = (f(b) − f(a))/(b − a) for some c in (a, b).
  • Taylor's theorem with remainder.
  • eˣ = Σ xⁿ/n! for every real x.
  • An absolutely convergent series converges.

Common misconceptions

  • Assuming every smooth function equals its Taylor series; f(x) = e^(−1/x²) with f(0) = 0 is a counterexample at 0.
  • Applying L'Hôpital's rule to limits that are not indeterminate forms.

Leads to

Optional discoveries

  • Complex analysis Why does the Taylor series of 1/(1 + x²) at 0 converge only for |x| < 1, although the function is smooth on all of ℝ? Its complex poles at ±i explain it.

Learning pathways

Further reading

  • Michael Spivak, Calculus (1967)
  • Tom M. Apostol, Calculus